Myth in Modern Rock Music: Universal Imagery in a Sea of Vapid Love Songs

Music and mythology have shared stories for as long as recorded history can tell us. In the times of Greek plays, music was an integral part of their staging. In the dark ages, bards made a living roaming the countryside telling villagers of great mythic heroes. Classical music is no exception, with its most notable contribution being Richard Wagner's massive operatic cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen", with 4 operas and nearly 14 hours of music telling an epic Teutonic myth.

When we start to look at modern music, in particular rock music, many people consider it void of meaningful references, mythic or otherwise. Too often, modern music is judged by its poorest examples for intellectual content, and perhaps with good reason. It is easy to point at the lack of intellectual content from the band hellogoodbye's 2006 song "Here in Your Arms", with lyrics like "I like where we are/When we drive, in your car/I like where we are.... Here."

Whether it is the argument that the listeners are younger and less educated, so references to arcane myths are left out, or that the musicians themselves are producing simpler music, there is a perception that, in its mainstream form, rock music stays away from confusing references.

Surely there are exceptions to this steadfast judgment. Bands like Iron Maiden and Led Zepplin intentionally used the world of literature and mythology as references in much of their music. In the end, few would argue that the music of the last twenty years has left these references aside in favor of accessibility to a larger audience.

I argue that these references are more common than one might think, and that with a little bit of attention paid to the lyrical content these references can become clear. The basis for this argument comes from the feeling that the references used are so universal, that they can neither help being used nor being understood. Matthew Sweet detailing that he "...came in from a dark world, and everything I ever loved is dead..." carries meaning, even if we don't superimpose the knowledge of his anti-hero archetype; every angst-ridden teenager has felt the same way at some point or another.